The Yaloak Estate at 4662 Geelong-Ballan Rd, Fiskville has been sold.
A China-backed agricultural firm has bought Yaloak Estate in regional Victoria for an undisclosed eight-figure sum almost a year after it hit the market.
Famous for polo events that attracted the likes of Catriona Rowntree, Michelle Payne and Damien Oliver, the 4662 Geelong-Ballan Road, Fiskville, property has been sold by Melbourne businessman, lawyer and winery owner Peter Yunghanns.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has also been snapped riding at the 5071ha estate.
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A striking, 1890s-built homestead, an additional seven houses, a wind farm and the Yaloak Polo Club are all part of the deal.
Listed in late August last year, the sale has reportedly topped its $50m expected price.
Melbourne businessman Peter Yunghanns.
Catriona Rowntree attended the Ballarat Cup at the Yaloak Polo Club in 2019. Photo: Yaloak Polo Club Facebook page.
China-backed Harvest Agriculture put a caveat over the property in July, several months after it was listed as under contract with Colliers International’s Duncan McCulloch and James Beer.
Mr McCulloch declined to comment, stating there was a confidentiality agreement in place.
Corporate advisory firm Kidder Williams also facilitated the sale. The group’s founder David Williams could not comment on the particulars, but said the property’s key attraction had been its prospects as an agricultural hub — not its sporting appeal.
The property features extensive arable land, with Melbourne’s CBD visible in the distance.
The new owners are an agricultural firm backed by Chinese money.
Mr Williams said while strong returns for Victorian farmers over the past six months could soon have properties bought by “the farmer next door”, there was still strong international interest.
However, sales to China-funded buyers were increasingly uncommon.
“A lot of that (demand) is coming out of Canada and the US,” Mr Williams said.
“The reality is the Chinese have nearly dried up, they are still interested in food, but you aren’t seeing many transactions going through.”
The massive estate spans more than 5000ha.
Its fertile grounds provide extensive space for growing ornamental and agricultural plants.
Farms producing macadamias, avocados and in Victoria in particular, almonds, were in particular demand with Canadian buyers, including Public Sector Pension Investment – the super fund behind the North American nation’s famous Mounties.
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